


There But Not Here

by rulerofthepotatoes



Series: In Another Life [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, F/F, F/M, Gen, Relationships are largely just background/implied, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29007138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rulerofthepotatoes/pseuds/rulerofthepotatoes
Summary: An exploration of what life might have been like for Sam and Dean and some of their friends and family if the supernatural did not exist.
Relationships: Amelia Novak/Jimmy Novak, Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester, John Winchester/Mary Winchester, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak, Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester
Series: In Another Life [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2130243
Kudos: 3





	There But Not Here

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't explore all the characters I wanted to here, so this will probably be turning into a series with short fics about some other characters, but Sam and Dean's story will remain solely within this fic.

In another life, things are much more peaceful and the future isn’t so bleak.

In this other life, Mary Winchester has a normal past. She fights with her parents about boyfriends and school, but never about any sort of family business. She still meets John and marries him, but this time she gets to watch Dean and Sam grow, and eventually they both go off to school and bring her back new daughters and, eventually, grandchildren. 

In John Winchester’s other life, he still buys the Impala instead of the van. Mary scolds him for it, but they both do love the car, and the boys do too, but they aren’t forced to grow up in the car, always on the road. Mary doesn’t burn in this life, John doesn’t fall into drink, and Dean doesn’t have to half raise his baby brother. Their sons get to be children, and John never learns about demons and ghosts and shifters and more because in this life, they don’t exist. 

Dean Winchester still thinks his baby brother puts too much focus on school in this life, and he gives him hell for it, but they never go years without speaking to each other and their teasing is always good natured and ribbing about regular brotherly things. He meets Lisa Braeden in this life too, and she’s just as fierce here as she would be in any other one. This time though, they get married after she starts up her own yoga studio and he has his own auto shop where he’s a pretty damn good mechanic. They have a little boy named Ben, who’s last name is Braeden-Winchester because Lisa’s stubborn and keeps her name, saying she’s an independent woman that doesn't need to take her man’s. Dean honestly thinks it’s great and he won’t admit to anyone but he’s so in love with her he would’ve gladly taken her name if she’d told him that was what she wanted, but she didn’t, so a hyphenated name for their son works just fine. 

To his brother’s chagrin and his mother’s great pride, Sam Winchester is as big of a nerd in this other life as he would be in any other. He goes to law school and meets the girl of his dreams. He and Jess both pass the bar, and later down the line when it’s all said and done and they’re married and the twins they eventually have are old enough that they don’t need constant supervision, they open up their own little law practice in Lawrence. They make a good amount of money and help a not insignificant amount of people. When Sam dreams of the future, he doesn’t see death, but sees his family, happy and healthy, and everything he’s ever wanted. 

* * *

In another life, neither Bobby Singer nor the Harvelles have any reason to meet John Winchester, as there are no ghosts or spirits, and no unexpected or supernatural tragedies occur in their families. In fact, all of them live to a good, long age. 

Bobby still has a junkyard, a shit childhood, and strange friends, but in this life, he still has his blessedly wonderful wife. He’s still paranoid, but it has nothing to do with monsters, and is just the result of a long and hard, but normal life. 

Bill and Ellen Harvelle run the Roadhouse, and get a good amount of business on the account of flowing liquor and amiable company. No demons or monsters ever walk in the door, because there are no demons or monsters in this life. They do still have a strange employee named Ash who is probably always high and searching up conspiracy theories on his laptop more than he’s ever working, but he’s a good kid and strangely enough gets along well with Jo, so they keep him around. 

Jo also works at the bar for a while after high school, but eventually she heads off to college after saving some money from both her time working for her parents at the bar and from other odd jobs. She eventually drops out after realising it isn’t for her, and she continues to find odd jobs, but never works in the same place longer than three months, always coming back to the Roadhouse to work for a time before leaving again; always returning to her family and her home. 

* * *

In another life, Kevin Tran is still an over-stressed AP student. He still focuses so much on school he stresses himself out to near exhaustion sometimes, but he isn’t chased by demons and angels– as they do not exist here, so his life isn’t that bad. The Word of God is of no issue in this other life either, and Kevin Tran’s soul is never burned out of him by the body of his friend. He lives a long life, and achieves a good number of his goals and political aspirations alike. 

For Kevin, this other life is stressful, but good. 

* * *

In another life, Kelly Kline is as ambitious and clever as she ever could be. She works her way up in the White House and follows an ever steady career path. After she eventually gets the position she wants and has even more stability in her life, she decides she wants a kid so she makes some more plans and ends up getting in vitro. Nine months later, she has a little boy named Jack. Her wonderful little boy grows up at a normal pace, is never required to be older than his years, and knows his mother and nothing of being the son of the devil, because in this life, he isn’t.

* * *

In another life, Jimmy Novak still prays to God every day and devotes himself to both his faith and his family. No angel ever calls out to him though, and he gets to watch his daughter grow into a strong, kind woman. Because he never meets Castiel in this other life – because here Castiel does not exist – his family also grows rather unexpectedly. He and Amelia didn’t plan for their son, but they love him as much as they love their Claire, and Jimmy’s family of three becomes a family of four. He thanks God for his wife and children every night in his prayers. God never speaks to him, nor do any of His children. This lack of divine intervention in this other life spares him his bodily autonomy, his life, his family, and his piece of mind. 

In this other life, Claire Novak still chooses not to complete her college education. She does freelance work and odd jobs and she loves it, so her parents are never anything but proud. On one of her odd jobs, she meets a girl named Kaia. Kaia still ran away from home and got into trouble with the authorities on occasion in this life, but her dreams never haunt her with the potential of other worlds, because in this life, there aren’t any to worry about at all. Eventually, after much pinning and some worry about her parents from Claire, the two get together. Jimmy and Amelia love Kaia like their own, and support Claire and their new soon-to-be daughter-in-law no matter what. 

* * *

In another life, Charlie Bradbury does not die violently, alone in a dingy motel bathroom knowing she won’t be found in time to be saved. Instead, she keeps on hacking and LARPing, way longer than most people would probably think she should. She still finds out Richard Roman Enterprises isn’t what it seems, but it has nothing to do with monsters and has more to do with shell corps and money laundering. She exposes Dick Roman and his company as fraudulent, and gets out of the country for a while before coming back under a new identity to continue doing what she loves with a little less worry about getting caught. 

Her other life is fun and strange and she loves it, and she gets to live it for a good long while. 

* * *

In another life, Chuck Shurely still publishes his books under the pseudonym Carver Edlund. His books are still focused on supernatural fiction, but they are _only_ fiction. His books are not The Winchester Gospel, and each book features different characters and stories and is not a series nor the writings of a profit-truly-God, but rather is simply just the writings of an average man that makes questionable online purchases with his book sales and who is a borderline alcoholic. 

(Dean stumbles upon these books one day while browsing the library with Ben. He’ll never admit to anyone – not even Lisa, and especially not Sam, as he knows they’d both tease him to death about his poor taste – just how much he enjoys them.)

* * *

This other life isn’t really anything like the life Sam and Dean Winchester really know. It’s not a djinn dream, or an illusion, or anything of the like. It’s just a possibility; a snapshot of what life might have been like for them and the people they knew if the supernatural wasn’t real. 

But it is real for them. And life isn’t like this for them at all. In their life, they know loss and pain and hurt at the hands of the supernatural. But that doesn’t make their life less than what it might have been, in fact, it makes it all the more special. Not just because monsters and angels and demons and such exist, but because it’s _theirs,_ and they still manage to do something good with it. Their real life might not always be happy, but it’s theirs and they know how to make the best of it. 

They have each other, above all, and they stick together, through all the loss and pain and suffering they endure, and that’s what really matters. And anyway, didn’t someone else already say that that was kind of the whole point?


End file.
